Gas in SoCal is at a record-breaking low

Gas prices are less than $2 per gallon in some states with the cheapest prices available at the pumps at Costco. (Betsy Johnson / Lariat)

Gas is an expense that has been included into the monthly bills. One week it skyrockets through the roof, the next it is low enough to where people can take weekend road trips again. Right now gas is at an all time low, but no one knows if it will stay that way.

Even though gas prices in Orange County continue to decrease, it is still much higher than the national average. And of course the prices changes from winter to summer every year. In the last year gas prices have reduced to about a $1.15 and about 26 cents over two months ago.

“California gas prices are the highest in the continental U.S.,” said Marie Montgomery, spokeswoman for the Automobile Club of Southern California. “This is because California uses what is known as a boutique blend of gasoline to improve our air quality.”

The difference between the summer and winter gasoline blend and costs involves a treatment called Reid Vapor Pressure of the fuel. This is measure of easily the fuel is measured and how easily it evaporates at any given temperature. The higher the RVP or more volatile the gas, the easier it evaporates.

For winter the fuel must have a higher RVP so the fuel is able evaporate at low temperatures so the engine can function properly, especially when it is cold outside. The summer blend has a lower RVP preventing excessive evaporation when temperatures rise.

For people buying gas the only difference in winter and summer blends is the price at the pump.

The EIA’s forecast is that the U.S. natural gas production will be record-breaking low supply this year by October. A myth has been going around that the production of gas will increase and cost will remain low. But in reality the price matters and production has been down since September 2015.

The oil and gas company had convinced the world that the United States 100 years of natural gas resources. Some readers worried after reading between the lines, there was a difference between reserve and resource. Reality eventually hit, it was to good to be true. Some believe that the only way to stop the declining of the gas supply is higher prices.

In the next 12 to 24 months it seems to be inevitable that natural gas prices will increase sooner than later. California pays one of the highest gas taxes in the country, every gallon of gas being pumped someone in California buys is paying 30 cents in tax. The state board of equalization is meeting to consider lowering that tax by 2.2 cents, in hopes to make gas even cheaper.

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